Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, reportedly expressed privately that the Republican National Convention (RNC) midterm event negatively impacted his Senate campaign, as reported by The New York Times.
In an audio recording shared with the Times by an attendee at a private fundraising event in Washington, D.C., Paxton is heard saying that the convention led to a decline in Republican numbers. He mentioned, ”To be honest with you, the numbers — when we did that convention — it dropped our numbers. Everybody’s numbers dropped. Right now, yeah, not good.”
Nick Maddux, a senior adviser to Paxton, denied the remarks made in the audio, claiming it was “manipulated nonsense” from the Times aimed at fabricating a nonexistent story. He also asserted that recent polling indicated Paxton was leading by three points and that they’d seen improvement since early September, declaring confidence in Paxton winning the race while anticipating support from President Trump’s visit to Texas.
An event hosted by Republican lobbyists Susan Hirschmann and Chris Brinson took place at Capitol Hill. During the convention, Trump critiqued Paxton’s appearance, remarking that not everyone appreciates his style, saying, “Some may not like the way he dresses, I don’t,” and noted, “He may not talk exactly perfectly, and he may not be the best-looking guy I’ve ever seen.”
Notably, Republican figures including Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz did not mention Paxton during their speeches; however, Vice President J.D. Vance took aim at Paxton’s Democratic rival, James Talarico, for his comments implying God is “non-binary” and referencing various gender identities.
The Senate race in Texas is currently viewed as a “toss up.” As of late August, Talarico was ahead of Paxton by nearly three points, and a recent survey indicated a mixed lead between the candidates. Republicans are preparing to invest around $150 million to $200 million in support of Paxton, with over $100 million earmarked for television ads from the Texas PAC, part of a super PAC supporting him.
Additionally, the prevailing sentiment among Republican PACs is to allocate substantial funds in traditionally red states and districts, including Ohio and Kansas. Post-convention polling revealed a decline for Republicans, with Democrats holding a slight edge according to RealClearPolitics, which showed Democratic support at 50.6% compared to 42.3% for Republicans. Interestingly, a PBS News/NPR/Marist poll indicated that a significant majority of independent voters favored Democrats.
Back in May, Paxton narrowly defeated Republican Senator John Cornyn in a primary after receiving Trump’s late endorsement.
